Blue Satin Sashes
by ThePoorDidntWantThisOne
Summary: Maria stood still as she felt the sash give and slither across her waist as he pulled it slowly around. Daring a glance back she looked over her shoulder to find him regarding her with his poker face, but his eyes blazed. Georg dangled the sash in front of her by one finger before he ripped it into two pieces, "I'm going to blindfold you with it, so that you can concentrate..."


_Sometimes, when you get together with all the (adult ladies) in the family to pack up Uncle Charles' cabin for the season and there is too much wine and a movie marathon that starts with Magic Mike and ends with Fifty Shades Darker things like this happen...and I like to think that Uncle Charles would have approved!_

 _If we are all honest, our Captain has potential for discipline kink written all over him, the crop alone…sigh. This features a rather 'different' side of our man and I understand if a dark and stormy kind of Captain is not your cup of tea and you wish to skip out on this one._

 _It's mostly smut with a very light dusting of plot._

 _For those of you who might like a little walk on the wilder side, enjoy!_

* * *

 _ **Blue**_ _**Satin Sashes**_

" _Light is easy to love._

 _Show me your darkness."_

"Darling?" Maria poked her head into the doorway of Georg's study and found her quarry seated by the fireplace, although no fire was lit. It was sweltering outside and had been for days now. Simply climbing the stairs had left her winded and feeling the uncomfortable prickling dance of sweat down her back.

Reaching behind her to peel the fabric away from her skin and trick herself into thinking there was a breeze Maria gave him an appraising look. _Brooding_ , she thought, taking in the tense set of his jaw and the pinched look of his eyebrows as he swung his riding crop from his long fingers like a pendulum. In deference to the humidity, he had tossed his riding jacket and tie aside and opened his shirt, exposing his long throat to the last of the afternoon light. Maria itched to reach out and soothe him but she was unsure of her welcome. Engaged only two weeks and he was beginning to keep his distance, already drawing back into himself. Rebuilding the armor she had so carefully dismantled.

And she didn't know why.

But she knew when it had begun.

Maria had been playing it over in her mind for days now, taking it apart and rearranging it until it had almost no meaning left. She leaned her shoulder against the jam of the door and watched him, gripping the skirt of her her dress to make certain the soft swish of the material didn't giver her away. Years spent in the dead quiet of submarine had given that man the ears of a fox.

Brooding to the rhythm of the tap of his riding crop as it hit the leather of his boots, Maria idly wondered how much money he had taken from the poker tables aboard his vessels? When he set his face in stone and let his eyes stare hard and dark she wondered if the men had shuddered as she did when they passed him? She felt herself wringing her hands and forced them to her sides, forced her chin up and repeated the mantra that she had been stumbling over in her mind since the night on the terrace.

 _That night_.

Was that only five nights ago?

It seemed longer.

* * *

Georg had volunteered to read the bedtime story to the little girls that night as long she promised to simply sit on the terrace and enjoy the cool breeze. Sit, and not plan a wedding for hundreds or fret about the children, or him. Or start to fall asleep into her chicken at the dinner table.

He caught her hand after dinner, "You're still working too hard, pretty girl," he had admonished with a smile, giving her a kiss on her forehead. Maria had leaned into his lips for just a moment to enjoy the calm that always came over her when she was close to him.

"I'm not sure I am made for sitting still and watching other people do for me," she replied, pulling away and squaring her shoulders a bit.

"Get used to it," he chuckled and took off back into the house to read whatever fairytale the girls had picked out. With voices as promised.

Maria simply sat and gazed out at the lake, resisting the urge to grab her new best friend, her bottomless ' _To Do'_ list, and begin adding the things still swirling around in her mind. Closing her eyes she hummed a little to herself as she tried to slow the rushing tide in her mind, concentrating in the faint sound of the water lapping the shore.

On some level it must have worked because when her eyes fluttered open again she took note that the sky was darker than when she had first come outside and Georg was sitting opposite her, the balloon of his brandy glass hanging from his fingers, watching her.

"Hello," she said shyly, running a hand through her hair and taking a deep breath to help her wake up from the little nap she had clearly succumbed to. _Please Lord tell me I wasn't snoring?_ She was embarrassed to have been found asleep in a chair like Gretl after a long day.

"Hello," he offered back, his voice low, in deference to the open windows of the sleeping children above them, but it still made her shiver as her heart fluttered at the private tone of his voice. The one he had used so effectively that night in the gazebo, and every minute alone since then.

"What was the story tonight?" She asked with a flippancy she didn't feel and ran her hands over her cheeks to hide the blush that burned. He was unbelievably handsome, sitting beside her, his tie tossed carelessly onto the table and his shirt open at the throat. Maria drew in a breath, smelling the spice of his cologne over the fresh water of the lake. She resisted the urge to crawl into his lap and ask him to tell her a bedtime story in that deep liquid voice he reserved for her alone. _Barely_.

Wouldn't Sister Berthe be appalled? A few weeks engaged and already she was plotting ways to take liberties with his body and not the other way around as she had always been warned. "Men only want one thing, Maria," her aunt had cautioned her, repeatedly. Yet now it seemed she only wanted one thing, if only he would offer her more of it. The samples of his lips and his hands on her bare skin hadn't been enough. There was more, she knew there was more, and she could hardly wait for it.

"Beauty and the Beast," he said with a sigh.

"It was last night's story as well," she confirmed with a nod. "Must be the new favorite. I know it was always one of mine," Maria said, reaching out to pluck her lemonade glass from the table and shuffle her melting ice a bit before taking sip and then rubbing her hands together to dry the condensation left over from the glass.

"It's appropriate, in lieu of things," he gestured between them. "At least I thought so."

"Really? How so?"

Georg gave her a wolfish grin showing his even white teeth, "Well, clearly I am the Beast and you are the Beauty sent to tame me and turn me back into a handsome Prince. But I'll warn you, I am not nor have I ever been a Prince."

"Maybe not, but you are handsome," she gave him a cheeky wink.

His lip quirked into an almost smile, "Not half as bewitching to look upon as you are. Sleeping in the moonlight," he raised brow at her, "What do good girls like you dream about I wonder?"

"Well, some girls dream about handsome princes," she gave him a saucy smile.

"Some girls? Not you?"

Maria shook her head.

"You'd rather have the wicked Beast?"

She gave a laugh, "Maybe not all the time. But I rather think I would like a man who could be wicked, if I wished it," she ducked her head, suddenly shy after such a revealing admission.

"That's what you want, hmm?" He asked, sliding forward to the edge of his chair, closing the distance between them but not reaching out to touch her. He delighted in moments like this, she was so rarely shy, always confident and certain of what she wanted. When she showed herself to be vulnerable to him he relished the moments. The warmth that diffused and saturated his cold heart with a yearning to take care of her. To hold her, treasure her, and give her everything she never knew she needed.

"A man who could be wicked?" He said, setting his glass on the table with a clink and rested his weight on his elbows, watching, waiting until she looked him in the eye.

"Dangerous choice Fraulein, choosing to be alone with a man who might be wicked, tsk tsk," Georg shook a finger at her.

Maria let out a nervous laugh hoping to dispel some of the tension between them. It didn't work, she felt the coil in her belly tighten as he gave her a slow predatory smile; the one that usually proceeded a kiss so fathomless her heart would pound at the mere memory of his mouth on hers.

"A wicked man. A man who might take liberties," his voice purred at her low and teasing as he reached out and drew his finger up her bare leg, stopping to draw soft circles on her exposed knee. He watched her closely, her breath turning into a soft pant as her mouth fell open, her eyes following the light dance of his fingertip, her bottom lip being laved the tip of her tongue.

Georg smirked as he leaned forward, touching his mouth briefly to the soft skin just above her knee, "A man who might relish making a former nun flush with pleasure at his touch," he whispered, flattening his palm against her knee and pushing it up scandalously high onto her thigh bunching the material of her dress. He watched her eyes flutter closed as she submitted to his touch with abandon and he felt a part of himself long dormant stir to life. He closed his eyes as he gathered his discipline around him and used it to push back any wayward thoughts she might have inspired.

He would not repeat the mistakes of his past.

Her trust in him was humbling. He had never known someone so giving, so _open_ in his entire life. He never wanted to experience the lack of it. The lonely darkness of a life without her would be unbearable. Georg gave up all pretense of sitting in his chair and knelt in front of her, gripping her hands tightly in his.

"Maria," he breathed her name, shaking his head as he trailed off as though he wanted to say more but simply could not form the words.

"Georg-" she gasped, startled out of her state of bliss by the tone of his voice.

"I can be whatever you need me to be. You saved me. Us. I can be anything you need. Whatever you want."

"I just want you to be you, Georg," she offered, cupping his cheek with her hand.

His eyes darkened and she felt him withdraw from her even though her hand remained in his firm grip.

"No," he shook his head, "You don't want that. But you make me want to be better."

"Better?" She asked, confused by the sudden change in his mood and the dark clouds she saw gathering behind his eyes.

"Georg, I don't understand. How could you be a better man than the one in front of me. You don't need to pretend with me, or try and guess at what I want when all I want is you. Just as you are."

"That's just it, Maria. You don't know me, not all of me."

Sensing that there was much more roiling beneath the surface of those sharp blue eyes Maria sat up, invading his space as he had invaded hers.

"Then show me, tell me," she demanded, ripping her hands from his grip and taking his jaw in her hands and forcing him to look into her eyes.

All he found was her painful honesty. She was so earnest. What you see was what you get, no pretense. And he wanted what she had to give, all of it.

 _Desperately._

He had been struggling with himself since that night in the gazebo. When everything he thought long dormant had suddenly roared to life in his chest. He was nearly frantic with the need to tell her what he wanted but determined to hide it just the same. Agatha had been... _appalled_ was too light a word. Mortified would be more apt. She had looked upon him as the Beast from a fairytale and there had not been a perfectly happily ever after for them from that moment on.

Gently removing her hands from his face, he stood up and walked to the railing, leaning his weight onto his hands and taking deep breaths, fighting down the words and the demands that his body was making on him. He felt her cautious hand on the small of his back, not trying to turn him around but simply offering her touch to steady him.

"I know there are things to talk about, Georg. I know we don't know each other as well as we should. I don't know your favorite color, but I could guess. I don't know any funny stories about your childhood or what you wanted to be when you grew up. I don't know your favorite meal or if you sleep on your stomach or your back, but I am looking forward to finding out. There isn't anything about you that I don't want to know. I want to know everything. I'm selfish that way."

"Everything?" he asked, his back rigid.

"Everything."

"Maria, you-" he stopped speaking to the lake and turned to face her. Her eyes looked so blue and so painfully _perfectly_ innocent in the half light and he hadn't the heart to tell her what he wanted her to know. What she needed to know. It didn't matter, he admonished himself. He could live without, he had with Agathe and he had learned to be happy.

To deny that part of himself.

And he could again.

Would again. For Maria.

"I what?"

He smiled at her, reaching out to grip her chin in his hand, drawing her closer, just as he had that night in the gazebo. She tilted her chin up at him, giving him the access to her he craved and he watched her nibble her bottom lip a bit. He groaned at that. He loved to watch her do that. Wanted to volunteer for the job for the rest of his life.

He leaned in and gave her a sweet kiss on her mouth and pulled back. Her eyes fluttered open in confusion and she frowned at him.

"Something wrong?" He teased.

"Well, no. I just thought I had made myself clear about not wanting the Prince but rather preferring the Beast. But if you're not up for-"

She was interrupted by his mouth swooping down and claiming her in a hard kiss, almost bruising as his tongue swept across her bottom lip and she reached her own out in answer. Remembering that Franz was probably watching from behind a curtain somewhere he pulled back slowly, nipping at her lip one last time before forcing himself to back off.

"That's more like it, Captain," she whispered, still flushed from his kiss.

"Your welcome, Fraulein. Now you had better go inside and go to bed like a good girl before the Beast takes advantage of the situation," he laughed, taking her hand in his and giving her a lingering kiss on the sensitive skin of her knuckles.

"Yes, sir, " she whispered, still dizzy from his kiss.

"What did you say?" He asked, almost hissing it at her.

Caught off guard by his sudden change in demeanor form playful fiancee to angry Captain, Maria stammered before managing a weak, "I said, yes, sir."

"Don't say that to me, Maria," he sighed, "I'm not your employer," he snapped, dropping her hand and backing up step. "Go on to bed, please. I'm not fit for company tonight."

"Georg, if it's something I did or said-"

"It's not you. Just please- _goodnight_ , Maria. I would like to be alone, I find that, well, sometimes I forget myself in your presence and I want more than you can give right now."

"Oh, of course. Goodnight," she mumbled and turned to the house without looking back at his form, draped over the railing and staring into the black distance of the lake. He had to get a hold of this. He had pushed it away for Agathe and he could do it for Maria. _Would_ do it, there was no other option. But a voice inside him kept jeering at him, taunting him, teasing him, and reminding him that she didn't know what he wanted.

Maybe she wouldn't say no.

Maybe she was different?

Georg pushed himself forcefully off the balcony and took off down the steps and headed out toward the water. It has always been his refuge and he hoped it would soothe him now. He ripped at the buttons of his shirt as he stalked down for the waters edge. Perhaps a plunge into the cold was just what he needed to cool his head.

He never looked back at the house to see the shadow behind the curtain on the second floor watching him carefully before padding back to her room.

* * *

Yanking herself into the present Maria forced her mind away from that night. But the memories lingered, as they had for days, as he had distanced himself and avoided her gaze and her touch. Each day her heart felt heavier in her chest.

Maria repeated the same thing to herself she had been saying for days, "It's new, he's adjusting, your adjusting, you've done nothing wrong," she mouthed the words to herself and felt a little trickle of calm take over. She was engaged to a complicated man, a man of intensity, and it would stand to reason that his feelings would be just as intense. Just as desperate. She knew very little of his first wife, the beloved Agathe, whose death had followed him, haunted him, humbled him, for years.

Perhaps this heavy veil that had settled between them was because of her?

Was he still wrestling with reconciling his past wife with his future? Clenching her fist in determination Maria reminded herself that she wanted the future with this man, no matter the complications. She wanted this, had given it all up for this, and she wasn't going to let him shutter himself away to hide whatever this was. She had given him a few days to himself, she hadn't pushed which was such a struggle for her. But Maria wasn't a patient woman, another one of her faults, and she wasn't prepared to spend another second with this ghost of silence between them.

Forcing a happy tone into her voice she walked over to him, "There you are! I was beginning to worry. Frederick came up an hour ago and I hadn't seen you walk past and I just thought, well, I don't know what I thought..." she trailed off, resting her hand lightly on his shoulder, feeling him stiffen slightly at the pressure of her palm and draw away from her, never ceasing that relentless tapping against his boot with the crop.

She pulled back as though she had been burned, the hurt at his rejection throbbed and she pressed a hand to her heart and glanced down at it, surprised she wasn't bleeding.

"Alright then," she mumbled, unable to completely disguise the anguish and bewilderment in her voice as she backed out of the room, slowing her steps do she didn't look as though was fleeing for the door. Which she was.

She would not cry in front of him.

"I can see that you're busy, I'll tell Frau Schmidt to bring tea in a bit," her voice wobbled on the last word and she dug her nails into her palms to stop the tears.

"Perhaps we can talk later, about whatever this is!" she snapped, waving her hand in the air between them in frustration.

Her anger at this stalemate between them quickly seeping into the cracks left behind by the hurt she was still reeling from. Passing in front of his chair, she resisted the urge to stamp her foot at him and held her head high even as she thumbed away the tears that spilled without her permission.

She made it four steps to the door before she felt his hand clamp onto her shoulder, spinning her around with a startled gasp she hadn't meant to let out.

"Maria, stop, please. You don't understand."

"No," she scoffed, "I don't understand! You won't talk to me. You won't touch me! You won't even look at me," she hissed angrily. "I've tried to give you some space and be patient and wait for you to come to me, but you aren't going to, are you?" She shot him a hard look, tapping her foot as she waited for him to say something. Anything. Disgusted with his silence she shook her head at him before ripping her arm from his grip and striding over to his desk. She yanked open the top drawer and began to dig about before marching back over to look him in the eye.

"Here!" Maria grabbed his hand and slapped something cold into his palm.

"Just whistle when you are ready, _Captain_. I'm certain you remember my signal!" she turned back toward the exit and made it two steps before she heard the shrill cry of the whistle.

"Please," he he offered, tucking the whistle into his trouser pocket, "Please stay. There are things to say."

"Not if you don't want to say them," she retorted, a little of the defeat she was feeling creeping into her voice, "I shouldn't be pushing you," she sighed and rubbed her palms together, "Everything in its own time."

"I do," he said, speaking more to the wall behind her, "I do want to say them. I have been trying to find the words or rather whether or not I should say the words and I just can't seem to-" he dragged a hand through his hair and rubbed at his forehead before forcing himself to look at her.

"You deserve better. I'm not _accustomed_ to sharing my feelings with anyone."

"I see," she shook her head and bit her lip and Georg knew she was starting to shut herself down again. It was the " _only until arrangements for another governess can be made"_ face all over again.

"But you make me want to become accustomed," he confessed.

Maria simply looked at him. Waiting.

Georg fisted his free hand at his side whilst gripping the crop in his right until his knuckles turned white, "I've let you believe that I-" he stepped forward and held her shoulder, with just his fingertips, giving her the chance to break free if she wished. But she was riveted by the tortured look on his face.

"Maria," he closed his eyes, running a hand through his hair again and causing the locks to fall across his forehead, making him look impossibly young, "I haven't been entirely honest with you, about myself. I was, I _am_ being selfish, so damned selfish. I can't let this continue. I'm not the kind of man you need, but I want you so badly," he mumbled, trailing a hand down her cheek and over her shocked bottom lip which was still forming a perfect 'o'.

"Georg," she whispered, her voice sounding rusty to her ears. "I don't understand, you're the most wonderful man, the most caring father-"

"But I'm not!" he shouted, slashing the crop across the top of the chair he had been sitting in with a vicious snap. He drew in a ragged breath, "I apologize for the outburst. It's just that I only let you see that side of me. I thought I could be in a normal relationship, but I see you and I think about-what I want to do-" he bit his words off, running his hand up and down her bare arm, soothing himself.

Georg shook his head, "Maria, I want marry you. I thought I could, but you're deeply good, _pure_. I thought I could be what you needed and I can't, not when I know that what I-I desire to have with you can never be. I can't let you marry me not knowing everything, but when you know everything there will be no marrying me."

"You're scaring me," she said, looking into his eyes and seeing only the walls.

"You should be."

"Whatever it is, you can tell me. You can trust me. I am more afraid of what I don't know," she gestured between them, "Whatever this is between us, whatever is causing you to draw back from me I want it stopped. I would rather know, Georg. I understand that I was a postulant but that doesn't mean I am a fool. Don't underestimate me," she pushed against his chest, stepping back so she could glare at him without the distraction of his touch.

"Tell me. Trust me," she demanded angrily.

"Really?" he sneered, "You want to know? I promise you once I tell you there will be no turning back," he said, his eyes boring into hers.

 _Daring_ her.

"I'm not afraid of you Georg. Any part of you," she whispered, clearly nervous but her defiant chin jutted out and he admired her spirit all the more and his heart ached, knowing that this might be the last time he had a chance to admire her.

"Remember. Remember that you asked me, that you _insisted_ ," he growled, stalking closer to her until their bodies touched from chest to hip. He kept walking, forcing her backward into the wall behind her. Maria let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding as her back hit the wall and he gathered both her wrists in one hand and pinned them above her head, holding her gaze with his, waiting until her pupils dilated and her breath came out in pants.

"Nervous?" He asked, a little smirk playing at his lips as he dragged the soft tip of the crop across her mouth and down the column of her throat. She shivered, with fear and pleasure.

"No," she lied, forcing herself to look into his eyes. "I'm not nervous. Tell me," she whispered, biting at her bottom lip to cover her shudder of pleasure as he ground his hips against hers, leaving her with no doubt to how he felt about this situation they were in. He was excited by this, by her surrender and her bravado.

"I want to tie you up, just like this, helpless and begging me to kiss every inch of your skin until you sob out for me to take you," he whispered, dragging the crop down the valley between her breasts.

"I want to turn you over my knee and spank your bottom until it's pink and I want to hear you _thank me_ for it. I want to watch you on your knees in front of me, and I want hear you say, 'yes sir' in my ear when you are in my bed and under my command. I want to push your limits," he continued, swirling the leather tip of the crop around her belly button, "I want to make you mine in every way," his words melted against the shell of her ear as he dredged the crop down her belly and between her thighs. She shuddered and found herself trying to press herself closer to him, he he held her wrists firmly and shook his head.

"I want to dominate you and I want to revel in your submission. Oh, you cannot possibly understand what I am asking of you," he sounded hollow and sad, "Can you?" he asked, watching her, those blue eyes had closed tightly, but they suddenly flashed open at him.

"Yes, sir. I understand," Maria murmured, relaxing the tension in her arms, letting him hold her up, surrendering into his touch.

Georg felt his knees threaten to buckle under him as he let out a swear, when she had called him 'sir', his heart had pounded as his mouth went dry. He wasn't sure he had heard anything in life sexier than her panting that out at him, eyes downcast, unconsciously _perfectly_ submissive.

"Shit," he mumbled, catching the slightly raised eyebrows she sent him on hearing him curse.

"Maria, you can not say that to me. You don't understand, how much I crave that from you. How much I-but I won't do this," he dropped her wrists and took a step back.

"If this is what you need, Georg, I want to be what you need," Maria reached out a hand to clasp his, drawing him back toward her.

"I want to at least try. Those things you said, that you wanted? They don't repulse me, they, well I can hardly breathe when I think about some of them," she was still panting. Flushing with the knowledge of all the things he hadn't said about what his words had done to her. He could feel her breath brushing against his lips. Maria touched his face, stroking his rough jaw, the stubble obvious as he had forgone his evening shave.

Suddenly she understood his cryptic comments from days before, on his knees before her, promising he could be anything she needed. Certainly the severe dominance in his words had frightened her, but if she was honest they also thrilled her, enticed her. And when she had called him sir, he had lashed out, but it wasn't in anger. It was lust and desire and a monstrous twisting need in him for something only she could give.

And as she stood there, analysing him, she recognized that he was waiting for her rejection.

Had he been rejected before she wondered? _Of course_. Of course he had. And he was standing there waiting for history to repeat itself and he was building the walls as fast as she could tear them down.

"She didn't like this part of you did she?"

"No," he said, so quietly she wasn't sure she had even heard it.

"You didn't tell her before you married?"

"No."

"And after? You tried to tell her what you wanted, what you needed, and she was unwilling?"

"She was repulsed. She was horrified, by me," he whispered.

"But how could she be? Without," Maria ducked her head bashfully but forced the words out, "...without trying it? Without letting you touch her that way just once?"

"Frankly, I cannot believe that you haven't run from the room screaming either. You and she had a similar upbringing."

Maria raised a brow at this.

"She came from a very different background obviously, wealthy and pampered and spoiled in many ways. But pure, rather like you. I rather loved spoiling her as well," he murmured lost in a thought.

Maria felt her lip tug into a smile at his confession, sometimes when he forgot to think before he spoke he said the most interesting things. She wasn't jealous of his confession. She knew him to be a generous man who thrilled at lavishing things on the people he loved. She was pleased to hear that he had not been different with his Agathe. That despite the fact that she had rejected a part of him he still wanted to please her, perhaps to make up for the request he had made that revealed so much of himself only to repel her.

"Her father was very conservative, almost puritanical, and she simply couldn't fathom it. I-I told her it wasn't something I needed. I pushed it away and learned not to ask for it. Or to think about it, but it was always there. The want, the desire to," he swallowed, "to dominate someone. It was easier to push it away with Agathe, I was away most of our marriage. When I came home, it was rare and it seemed easy to deny who I was for just a month or two shore leave."

"I thought about maybe bringing it up again over the years but there never seemed to be a good time. And then she got sick and all I wanted to demand of her was that she get better."

"Oh Georg, how sad. For both of you."

"Sometimes she would catch that dark look in my eye and I knew she was afraid of me. I couldn't bear it if you were afraid too. I won't do that to you."

"What about Baroness Schrader?"

"What about her?"

"Did you? With her?" Maria blushed but kept her curious gaze on him.

"No. We never, well, we did..." he offered sheepishly.

Maria held up a hand, "I don't need details. She is beautiful and so are you, a recipe for the perfect couple if there ever was one." Georg grimaced at her words.

She tapped her bottom lip in thought, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he have a weak laugh, "I don't have any secrets from you now."

"Is it only in the bed-," she flushed, "I mean in private?"

"In private. I have no desire to control you in any other way," he smirked, "As though I could if I wished it. You break all my rules. Your obedience to me in this area would be," he closed his eyes for a moment, "intoxicating."

"Do you want to-will it hurt very badly?"

"I'm not a masochist, Maria. _At all_. I would never leave a permanent mark on you."

"But you said," she blushed fiercely and had to force her eyes to find his, "you know, about wanting to spank me?"

"I did. It might sting a bit, at first, but I assure you it would bring you pleasure. In the end it's all about pleasure. I just want to be in control of yours."

"Mmm," she hummed, as if she were considering how something like a spanking could give her pleasure. Pressing back against him as close as she could she took the stalk of the crop between her fingers and raised the tip to her cheek as she looked up at him through her lashes, "I like trying new things." She licked her lower lip before giving him a coquettish smile and batting lashes at him, "I mean, I like trying new things, _Captain_."

"Clever girl."

"Show me?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No, no, no," he said, playfully shaking a finger at her and trying to lighten the mood between them.

"Please. _Sir_."

He let out a groan of frustration and closed his eyes as the lust rolled through him upon hearing nothing more than her calling him sir. It was intoxicating. He clenched his fist, nails digging so hard into the crop it threatened to snap and shook his head, determined to not make the mistakes of his past. To alienate another good woman from his life with his needs, his wants, and his dark desires.

"I can't, Maria. Please don't ask me. If I open that door between us, I won't be able to close it again. It's not a game I can put back on the shelf, if I have your submission once I will never be able to stop. You might not like what you find on the other side, and I couldn't stand the look in your eyes."

"What if I did? Like it?"

"I find I am too much of a coward to take the risk with you."

"You've never been afraid in your life."

"You've proven to be the exception to everything in my life."

"I'm not her."

"No, you are not."

"She might not have wanted that, I understand, We all have our limits and they should be respected, but…"

"What?"

"I am willing to try."

"Are you?"

"I meant what I said, I want to try."

"Play, it's called play. People have entire rooms in their homes devoted to it."

"I thought you said the Von Trapp's don't play?" she raised a brow at him.

He gave her a growl and took a few steps closer to her. "I'm-," he hummed with pleasure at the sight of her rubbing her cheek against the crop, "I want to. Your so very tempting, my darling."

"I want to be your wife Georg. And if I can't do this, be what you need, then we both need to know before we marry. Then we can decide, together, what to do."

"Are you certain?"

"I am."

"I won't, we won't," he cleared his throat and squared his shoulders, "I won't take you to bed. As much as I might want to. But I will have to touch you, _intimately_."

"I can't wait," she shot back with a sly smile.

"Impatient are we?"

"Yes. These last days have been rather," she smirked at him, " _torturous_ without you touching me."

"You need a word, any word, pick one and if you say it at anytime, I will stop, immediately. No questions asked. I will not be angry or upset with you. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir," she gave him a cheeky half grin and tapped her index finger on her bottom lip as she carefully considered her word.

"I'll choose _whistle_ as my word."

Georg rolled his eyes, "Good choice. Whistle it is."

"Once we begin you will address me as sir, at all times. You will follow my instructions, to the letter. You will not speak unless I give you leave to, other than to cry out in pleasure. That will almost always be permitted."

"Are we clear?"

She nodded.

"Do you have any questions for me? You may ask me anything before we begin and I will answer."

"Will you-will you be spanking me today, uh, sir?" she asked, eyeing the crop he had set on the table warily.

"Not today, kitten. Unless you think you've earned one?" he mused, circling around her slowly.

"Probably," she muttered before shaking her head no, still looking at the crop on the table.

"Interested in my crop?"

"Oh, um, well I thought that…" she trailed off, cheeks flaming at the thoughts she couldn't find the courage to voice.

Georg chuckled, "You thought I might use it in you?"

"You did say a spanking," she challenged.

"Mmm," Georg seemed lost in thought for a moment, "That idea has merit. But any instrument of pain can be used for pleasure, kitten."

Maria gave him a questioning look.

"Would you like me to prove it?"

She nodded.

"Today is about showing the pleasure I can bring to you in the most chaste way I know how. We shall have a lesson in sensory deprivation," he stated matter of factly, casting his eyes over the simple blue dress she wore.

He looked at her sternly, almost identically to how he appeared when first they met, "If we, rather if you, desire we explore this again we will sit down and have a very serious conversation about what will and will not be permitted between us. You will be making all of the decisions about how you will be touched and where," he drawled.

Maria swallowed audibly and nodded.

"Are you ready to begin?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good girl," he purred, reaching out to turn her around and begin to untie the sash at her waist.

Maria stood still as she felt the sash give and slither across her waist as he pulled it slowly around. Daring a glance back she looked over her shoulder to find him regarding her with his poker face, but his eyes blazed. Georg dangled the sash in front of her by one finger before he ripped it into two pieces, "I'm going to blindfold you with it, so that you can concentrate on me only. Do you agree to be blindfolded?"

"Yes, sir," she swallowed.

"Good girl," he whispered, reaching around and covering her eyes, she felt him begin to tie the sash in place, blotting out the light so that only the heat of his body remained. She took a deep breath to steady herself and caught the sharp scent of his cologne and soap from the bathroom in the hall on his hands.

Keenly aware that she was simply standing in his study while he walked around her in a slow circle, Maria dug her nails into her hands to stifle the urge to wiggle. When she thought she could bear it no longer she felt the warmth of his hand hovering over the nape of her neck just before it gripped the tab of her zipper at the back of her dress. The sound of the little metal teeth being forced away from each other was deafening in the silence of the room. She could hear both of their breaths and feel the throb of her heart all over her body.

Maria felt the zipper catch at the bottom of her gown, just above the small of her back, her exposed skin prickled under the cool air and she felt it tighten further as she reminded herself that he was was most certainly looking at her.

Georg reached up and looped his index fingers underneath the shoulders of her dress and slid the entire thing off in one swoop, encouraging her with a tug to step out of the dress. Leaving her standing in only her bra and knickers.

"Alright?" he whispered in her ear.

Maria nodded, unable to stop her arms from crossing about her stomach and breasts.

"No hiding," Georg admonished, tugging her arms away from her gently and placing them back at her sides.

"There is no part of you I don't want to see. You have nothing to hide and nothing to fear. You are beautiful, I promise you," he murmured, reaching around back and snapping his fingers against the closure of her bra, letting it fall to the floor, unable to stop the moan of pleasure at his first sight of her flushed pink nipples and full breasts.

"I knew it…" he mumbled to himself, "...knew you would be perfect."

Maria felt the blush that had been staining only her cheeks creep down to her chest. Without the aid of her sight she had only her other senses to tell her where Georg was and what he might be up to next. The intimacy of him stripping her bare while he remained clothed and she remained blind frightening and intoxicating. She wondered if he would remove her knickers as well?

Which knickers had she worn today?

She shook her head a bit and stifled a smile. Her undergarments were all plain white cotton. She would have to remedy that in the future. The near future if merely the sight of her modest and rather virginal underthings made his breath catch in that delightful way.

She felt him take her hand and laced his fingers with his as he lead her across the room.

Geogr gently pressed the tips of his fingers to the tops of her shoulders pressing down, "Sit, please." Maria wanted to sit gracefully but she couldn't see and she felt her arm flail back a bit to make sure the chair was behind her before she bent her knees. She heard George throaty chuckle in her ear at her less than graceful descent.

"I would never let you fall, kitten. This is not about humiliating you. I want you to trust me with your body," he said, as Maria took a deep breath and tried to relax her body. In and out, trying not to squirm on the brocade fabric that she was certain she wouldn't have given a second thought to with her eyes open but now she could feel every stitch beneath the whisper thin fabric of her panties.

"You know, it's a funny thing," Georg spoke suddenly, "people often think that the submissive partner is the one without the power," he drawled to her as she felt the smooth loop of the tip of the crop against her bare shoulder. She felt it slide over her collarbones and tracing a lazy pattern the inched tantalizingly closer to her breasts with each pass.

"But they would be wrong. The submissive has all the power. She gives herself totally and it's her trust and not her body that is so very...," he paused, watching the hitch in her breath as he trailed the loop over the pucker of her nipple, "...seductive." Georg felt the corner of his mouth lift as he heard her inhale a rough breath and watched her hold it. He imagined that her eyes were completely dilated behind the sash and he delighted in her white teeth tugging at her bottom lip as she struggled not to wiggle. She was practically sitting on her hands to stop them from reaching out.

"Having trouble keeping your hands still, kitten?"

Maria nodded.

"Would you mind if I tied them, it will help you. I promise."

She cocker her head t the side, as if trying to hear him better and then nodded again. She felt Georg reach beside her for what must have been the other half of her ruined sash as he gathered her hands behind her back and tied the wrists gently. She know if she struggled even a bit she could easily slip the sash and she immediately appreciated his thoughtfulness.

It was her choice to remain tied.

Just as she was growing accustomed to the shackles on her wrists Georg distracted her by rubbing the leather loop against her other breast. Maria let out a low moan, feeling her nipple tighten beneath his light touch sending a shot of boiling pleasure down her body.

Eyes closed beneath the blindfold Maria felt her other senses heighten, she could almost feel the air stir as she felt Georg circle her body. The tip of the crop leaving a trail of gooseflesh across her ribs, over her hip and up her spine. Her skin prickled and burned under his delicate attention and Maria felt herself sigh with pleasure. Wondering if she would simply melt when she felt the heat of his palms against her after the cool of the leather.

Georg had completed his circle around Maria, feeling his groin tighten in response to her obvious enjoyment of what was happening. He could almost feel her letting go and giving herself over to the experience.

Giving herself over to him.

Unable to resist he circled a pink nipple one last time before reaching ouch and pinching her other nipple between his fingers, rolling it a bit at her tiny cry of pleasure.

Maria revelled in the contrast of his warm fingers and felt herself clench her thighs together to relieve some of the throbbing pressure that was building up in the wake of Georg's little game. She arched her back into his touch and was rewarded when he palmed her entire breast in his long fingers and gave her a firm squeeze that she felt all over her body. She clenched her hands behind her back to keep herself from ripping off the restraints and reaching out to grab him.

As if sensing her near disobedience, she felt Georg slide his palm down from her breast to her ribs, giving her a little tug that turned her more toward him before letting go of her completely and leaving her once again alone with her blindfold and her thoughts. She felt herself drift a bit, spooky waiting for him to make the next move, almost patient in her anticipation of what he might do next.

Maria felt him reach down and caress the skin under the curve of her breast, enjoying the prickle and burn until she she heard the air whistle and felt the sting of the crop against her tightly furled nipple. Maria cried out more in shock than in pain. Another light blow came to the other nipple and she cried out again at the sensation that left a warm bite in its path. She heard material rustle and then she felt a warm of air against her tingling nipple, just before Georg engulfed one in his mouth and sucked the sting away. Behind the privacy of the blindfold Maria conjured an image of Georg on his knees in front of her and she felt the last of her inhibitions float away in the pleasure he was giving her.

These are rules she is finding that she enjoys obeying, very much.

She could feel the tip of the crop running gently up and down the soft skin of her stomach, swirling now and then in the hollow of her belly button and flirting with the edge of her panties. Letting out a breath she was holding Maria waited until she felt the crop dip down below her navel and she let her knees fall open, an obvious invitation to more.

"Good girl," she heard him murmur to her in her ear as he pressed a kiss against her earlobe.

"Your stomach muscles are so tight," he mumbled against jaw, "Are all former nuns in such shape?"

"N-no, sir."

"Must be all that running away in the mountains," he teased, watching her blush again at his words and bite her lip, probably to keep from uttering the retort he knows is on the tip of her tongue. Patiently he drug the crop one last time down her stomach and brushed between her legs before beginning a slow drag up and down her thighs, purposefully avoiding her center.

Panting and a little mindless Maria felt herself push her hips at him and felt the words tumble out before she could stop them, "Georg please. _Please_!'

Ignoring the obvious rule breaking Georg only continued to tease, "Please what, kitten?"

"Touch me," she begged and gave a little mewl of delight as he pressed the handle of the crop against her center and she rocked herself against it, revelling in the privacy the blindfold gave her her. Georg was glad for the scrap of fabric that covered her eyes so that he was spared the embarrassment of staring at her with an open mouth like a schoolboy with his first woman.

Shaking his head out of the fog of lust Georg felt his hand slide around to the small of her back, gently guiding her movements against the crop as he leaned in to take her mouth with his. Tangling his tongue with hers and nipping at her lips before trailing his mouth down her neck to suck at her collarbone and lave her breasts.

Maria felt Georg snatch the crop away and she heard a clatter across the room before she felt him slip his hand under the side of her underwear and heard the crisp rip of the fabric in the still air of the room. The other side gave way with another satisfying rip and she gave a little shocked chuckle as she felt the material whisked out from underneath her.

"Something funny, Fraulein?" he asked, skimming a single finger down her center.

"Oh, um it's um, it's like a magician," she panted, licking her lips as he pressed the pad of his thumb against her mouth, "when he pulls the tablecloth out from under a, oh! A p-perfectly set table and never breaks a dish," she gasped Georg brushed the tip of his index finger against the slick red of her swollen lower lip. She shuddered. He repeated the little caress against her mouth giving her just enough pressure to match his fingers between her legs.

Maria pushed her hips up at him grasping his taught forearm to hold his hand in place, "Please." She was losing herself in the feather light tease of his touch, close to begging for what she needed.

"Please what kitten?

"Right _there_ , harder."

Georg obliged, pressing his thumb against her center and rubbing slowly.

"Here?"

"Oh I can't say it...Georg, right there," she begged her nails digging into his arm as she pressed her hips up to help relieve the ache he was building.

Georg left his thumb in place, rubbing taught circles, as he gently slid his index finger gently down her cleft, up and down in a maddeningly slow tempo that had Maria thrashing her head a little in desperation.

Georg adjusted the buckle on his pants as if to remind his body that it would not be getting a turn this go round before he refocused his energy on the woman in front of him. Georg leaned in and captured her mouth with his, removing his hand from her soft heat and sweeping his tongue against hers as he moved closer to her, rubbing a circle on her bare belly before sliding two fingers into her wet warmth again.

" _Fuck_ , sweetheart, you're soaked," he whispered against her panting mouth, losing his much vaunted composure in the face of her unabashed need. He couldn't resist slipping his fingers further into her core and watching her back arch off the chair. George stared down at her, licking his lips subconsciously.

"You're gorgeous like this, just about to fall apart for me," he murmured before nudging inside her and catching the tightly drawn breath she made with his own mouth as he leaned in to kiss her lips.

"Tell me what you want."

"I, oh Georg, I can't," Maria moaned as he twisted his fingers and found that delicious spot that made her want to twist in on herself. "I can't say it," she gasped, her cheeks burning with arousal and shame.

"Shall I say it for you, pet?" He asked, twirling his wrist so his thumb could brush that little sweet spot that had her crying out.

Maria whimpered, lost in the sensations he was creating.

"I'll take that as a yes", he smiled as he leaned in and kissed her again, deeply. Pressing his tongue into her mouth in a counterpoint to the twisting of his finger inside her. He could feel the sweat trickle down his back, she was so very tight. Goerg leaned back and watched her, oblivious to everything around her and totally focused in the pleasure she was feeling. The pleasure that he was giving. She was beyond beautiful and she arched her body against his hand and begged without words for what only he could give her.

"Mmm. Your beautiful, those blue eyes closed in pleasure and your mouth wet and swollen from my kisses. Just the thought of touching you like this," Georg shook his head at his own good fortune and the disbelief that this was happening, that she was submitting to him. "Maria, you have no idea how often I imagined you like this," he leaned in again swiping a kis up her cheek and whispering in her ear, "You have no idea how hard I have come, alone in my bed at night with you just a few steps away from me, imagining what you taste like."

Georg licked a path from her clavicle up her neck and sucked the bottom of her earlobe into his mouth, relishing the sound of her soft whimper and the frantic roll of her hips. Pressing his lips to her ear he whispered, "I know, sweetheart. But you musn't come, not without my permission," he warned, pushing his hand down on her hipbone that threatened to come off the chair entirely and slowing his pace to help her gain some control.

He watched her, panting and struggling against his hands, trying to obey him and hold off the inevitable. Georg sighed, she was remarkable, this woman in his hands. He leaned in and brushed his mouth against the corner of her mouth, her jax and finally against her ear.

"Come for me. Now…," he whispered, his commanding words pushing her over the edge and into an abyss of pleasure where it seemed his name was the only thing she took with her.

Maria felt Georg scoop her into his arms and then sit back down on the couch, cradling her in his lap. He was murmuring to her but she wasn't really hearing him, only feeling the vibration of his words as she let her eyes drift closed.

"Here sweetheart," he pushed her up a little and began loosening the sash at her wrists and then the blindfold over her eyes. Georg simply stared down at the sashes in his hands, suddenly aware that this was the moment of truth. When she will decide their future for them.

Georg waited for her to say something, but when she remained silent the anxiety forced him to raise his eyes to hers.

Searching.

Waiting.

All the air in the room seemed to be still as if it was waiting for her as well.

Meeting his eyes briefly Maria stood on slightly wobbly knees and lifted her dress strewn over a chair. She stepped into it and presented her back to him.

He sat for a moment until he realized she wanted him to zip her gown. Stepping lightly away from his lingering fingers on her neck Maria glanced around the room before sending him a questioning look.

Georg gave her a weak smirk and pulled the corner of her white cotton panties from his pocket, stuffing them back in when she reached out to take them.

"No. If I only have this moment then they will remain with me. Along with these," he gestured toward the torn pieces of sash from her dress.

Maria nodded in understanding and headed for the door, twisting the knob.

Georg felt his heart sink to his stomach and rise to his throat at the same time. Steeling his voice and jerking his shoulders back he forced his mouth to move, "Right, I, I understand you're saying no-"

"Whistle," she offered quietly. He stopped moving completely.

"You really must stop jumping to all the wrong conclusions about me, darling. It's a yes."

George felt his lungs empty in a whoosh and he felt a little wobble in his knees he was certain men weren't supposed to feel. "Why are you leaving?"

"To find a room in this enormous house like the one you were talking about. I have lots of ideas," her eyes sparkled at him and he let out a relieved laugh.

She flounced out the door, her shoes swinging in her hand.

She reappeared a few moments later, "Aren't you going to help me?"

"Yes, of course."

"Bring the crop," she shouted over her shoulder.

* * *

 _To the darling who encouraged me to post this, Hugs!_

 _To those of you who have asked, I will begin posting new chapters of my WIP, Aigen Shipping, next week!_

 _**Cheers!**_


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